Nicky Cheese

Got one of these in the mail the other day…more than a month after the alleged violation. Eh…make that the confirmed violation.

Yes, it’s a ticket. A red-light camera ticket. And unlike the curbside 5-o, this method of traffic enforcement is really covert, and thereby, really effective. But really effective at what? Reducing accidents? Or just documenting offenders like me and issuing them $90 citations?

Bingo to the latter.

Of course, at this realization, dollar signs start appearing in the eyes of revenue-strapped politicians everywhere. Mayor Daley, never an exception to this rule, instituted a red-light camera program that collected nearly $20-million in 2006 alone.

Alas, drivers aren’t excited. Some take on arguably extreme measures, like the man who fired three rounds at a red-light camera in Knoxville, Tennessee, last November. Others employ more civil methods, like the three individuals that filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Chicago’s red-light cameras. Their argument? Car owners are ticketed regardless of whether or not they are behind the wheel. As it turns out, a federal judge dismissed the lawsuit last week.

Now, I don’t necessarily disagree with the ruling, which revolves around owner responsibility. But, as I’ve made clear, I’m also not naive as to the political motivation for implementing red-light cameras in the first place. It’s all about revenue and hardly at all about public safety.

So, with that said, here’s a website that maps out the exact location of every red-light camera in Chicago, as well as those in every other major US city. Nice.